Safety lowering apparatus.



No. 644,662. 'Patented Mar. 6, |900. n. M. cLLms.

SAFETY LOWEBING APPARATUS.

(Application led Apr. B, 1899.)

(No Modal.)

INVENTOR l DANIEL M. COLLINS, OF sIOUx OITY, IOWA.

sAFETY/.LowERlNe-AePARATUs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,662, dated Maren e, 190e.

Application filed April 8. 1899. Serial No. 712,325. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, DANIEL M. COLLINS, a citizen ofthe United States of Am erica, residing at Sioux City, in the county of Woodbury and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Lowering Apparatus, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to an improvement in safety lowering apparatus which is applicableV to use as a fire-escape, for lowering heavy weights-as, for instance, safes from the upper stories of high buildings-for lowering cars gradually on a steep inclined plane, or, in fact, it is applicable to a great variety of uses to which it is desirable to apply a lowering apparatus.

With the foregoing objectin View myinvention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of my improved safety device, a portion of the outer case being broken away to display the interior. Fig. 2 is a similar View, partly in section, and displaying portions of the binder broken away; and Fig. 3 is a view of a modied form of binder, a portion broken out to show the interior.

A and B represent a pair of spools on a common axis of the same or different diameters and having large circular flanges l and 2 at their outer ends and a flange 3 between them whereby the two spools are formed. These two spools are either formed in one integral piece or secured together, and they may be loosely mounted upon or secured to an axle 4. The spools are preferably incased in a drum or cylinder C, in the ends of which the axle is either secured or turns, as the case may be.

D is a cable supported at its opposite ends upon the two spools in any convenient manner, with one end wound around one spool in one direction and around the other spool in the opposite direction, With a loop 5 formed Outside of or below the cylindrical drum or casing by passing the cable through a slot or slots in said casing.

As will be observed, one spool is substantially lled by the coils of the cable wound thereon when the apparatus is prepared for first, the great length of cable wound or contained in a limited spacey defined by the capacity of one spool, the result of which is that a cable of sufcient length to reach from the highest building to the ground can be wound and held upon a spool of comparatively-small size; second, the dierential relation of the two parts of the cable, which results-in consequence of this winding in increased leverage upon the spool beginning at the outer surface and gradually diminishing as the cable is paid out and it gets nearer the axis; third, the increased friction resulting from the outer coils of this large quantity of cable tending to sink among and between the inner coils adjacent thereto. All these peculiarities resultfrom the large number of coils in the cable. As has been suggested, the spools themselves might also be of different diameters, and in this way very good results could be obtained.

Before leaving this portion of the description it `may be mentioned as a convenient mode of attaching the cable to the two spools the hole 6 is formed through the dividingflange 3 for the passage of the cable from one spool to the other, so that the cable winds in the two different directions on the two spools when the latter are turned. This, however, is only a convenient and safe way ofvattaching the cable and is byno means essential; also,by attaching the two ends together in this way the cable is made continuous.

Only two of a variety of conceivable means are illustrated for suspending the load from the cable and for effectinga braking or binding upon the latter to prevent too rapid a descent. One of these consists merely in ablock of wood or metal having a hole 7, made trans- Versely therethrough for the passage of the cable, and from this block a swing, sling, or other convenient means of safely holding the person or load to be lowered is attached. Any suitable device of this character may be adopted. The angular corners around which the cable passes serve as a binder upon the cable and absolutely prevent automatic or accidental descent, and with an apparatus of this character the person descending regulates the downward movement by pulling down upon the cable from the spool unwind- IOO ing the cable. In this manner the descent is within the control of the person making the descent Ybut in addition to its being within his control the descent may be controlled in the same manner from the upper end, 01, in fact, at any point where the cable may be reached, by a person pulling down upon this same portion of the cable-as, for instance, where a child is to be lowered or a dead weight, as an article of furniture, a safe, or what-not, and to lower another load the apparatus may be returned by pulling down upon the other strand of the cable. In the other form (shown in Fig. 3) an ordinary pulley-block is employed, with this additional feature--that a binder upon the cable is formed by passing the cable through a hole S in the upper end of the block, in which construction the pull is in a direct line toward the axis of the pulley, and consequentlythe load will not lower automatically or accidentally, but must be lowered, as previously described, by an external force applied to one side of the cable. Although a binding` device is desirable, by the winding of this great length of cable upon the spools it will be understood that a descent could be made with perfect safety without any binding device whatsoever, for as the cable unwinds upon one spool it winds or accumulates upon the other, and consequently as the leverage gradually diminishes upon one it correspondingly increases upon the other until a point is reached where the two equalize, and when this point is reached a stoppage would occur automatically, and it would be a gradual slackening of speed and not a sudden stop. This principle can only be applied and utilized in this automatic operation where the binder is dispensed with altogether by the great length of cable employed and wound upon the spools.

As another means of binding where an ordinary block and tackle are used any sort of device which will bring the two parts of the cable together would serve the purpose, or any short or abrupt bend in the cable would accomplish the same purpose.

From the foregoing description the simplicity and the comparatively-slight expense and at the same time perfect eiiiciency of the apparatus will be manifest.

The apparatus is capable of being constructed in the most compact form, and a device capable of lowering a person of ordinary weight has already been constructed nine inches in length, which has been operated with perfect success. In this compact form it is obvious that it could be stored away without occupying more than a very small amount of space, as it is unnecessary to keep it mounted for use, it being merely necessary to fasten the device securely when it is used for loweringa person or other object.

It is evident that slight changes might be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to be limited to the exact constructions set forth herein; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a cable wound in opposite directions around a common axle, the cable having a depending loop between the points where it is wound around the axle, of a block suspended in the loop of the cable, an angle being formed in the loop where it passes through the block whereby to cause the block to remain in position in the loop until lowered by a downward pressure ap plied upon one strand or side of the cable at anypoint throughout the length of that strand or side.

2. The combination with a cable wound in opposite directions around a common axle, the cable having a loop formed in it between these two winding-points, of a block having a hole formed transversely therein for the re ception and passage therethrough of the loop, the latter havinga sharp angle formed therein at each end of the hole whereby to pre4 vent accidental slipping of the block upon the cable.

The combination with two spools on a common axis, and an endless cable wound in opposite directions around a common axle, the cable having a depending loop between the points where it is wound around the axle, of a block suspended in the loop of the cable, an angle being formed in the loop where it passes through the block whereby to cause the block to remain in position in the loop until lowered by a downward pressure applied upon one strand or side of the cable at any point throughout the length of that strand or side.

DANIEL M. COLLINS.

yICO 

